How Leaders Can Push Back and Say “No” to Improve Their Careers

Companies are full of people trying to take your time and add tasks to your already full workload.

Your standard working week is already under attack. Unscheduled meetings and unexpected work stop you from finishing what you are meant to be doing, so you stay a little later.

You have a problem saying no and the work piles up. If you don’t go “over and above”, you won’t get that promotion or the recognition you deserve.

Or will you?

Why Being Able to Push Back Makes You a Better Leader

Pushing back on people who try to load you with extra work can make you appear more competent.

Here’s why:

If you understand your limits, you can prioritise your effort to make sure you get your important tasks finished at a high level of quality.

When you limit the amount of work you take on, you have time to focus on leading, coaching and mentoring your team, which are your important leadership tasks that improve the performance of your team.

When you set boundaries, you do good work, rather than finishing things as fast as you can, which leads to errors.

Your team will appreciate you for limiting their workload, because you aren’t too scared to push back on your own boss.

Resource:If you want to improve your effectiveness and build a more productive mindset, the best way is to enrol in the Time Management for Leaders Online Course, containing over 30 short video lessons with actionable strategies to improve the way you manage your time.

How Do You Know When You Need to Push Back?

Every leader’s situation is different. But as a guide, I like to ask myself the following question to decide whether I need to start saying “enough is enough”.

If the answer is “No”, then you need to think about whether you need to start pushing back.

How You Can Start to Push Back

Pushing back is an art form. When a leader pushes back on everything, people will say they “aren’t a team player”.

However, a leader that takes on too much work will put pressure on themselves and their team until they eventually burn out.

1. Push Back By Building Credibility First

First, you need to prove that you can do a good job, so this should be your immediate focus. If you’re new in your role, you need to build credibility.

This will help you build the respect to do what’s needed later. If people don’t think you’re competent and you start to push back immediately, people will just see you as lazy.

4. Make Sure You Explain the Reasons Why

It’s not usually good enough to say that you just don’t want to do extra work. “It’s not my job” doesn’t usually work well either. If you can give good reasons why you and your team is not able to squeeze in that extra work, this can go a long way.

Over time, people around you will learn that they need to prioritise, rather than trying to get you to do everything at once. After a while, extra work becomes a negotiation, not a directive.

You can’t do everything, so be sure to choose the right things.

5. Push Back By Being Persistent

When you push back, you really need to mean it. Your goal is to train the people around you so they learn that there are limits to what they can dump on you and your team.

This might even mean taking a negative performance review or someone yelling at you. You need to show that you are serious, at least until the situation becomes unworkable.

It won’t always work out in your favour, especially when senior stakeholders are pushing work down on you. But over time, people will eventually learn that you can’t be pushed around.

If you keep trying and people around you refuse to learn, you may need to rethink your position in the organisation. Sometimes a culture of overwork is difficult to change. You might enjoy building your career more elsewhere.

Share this post, and grow the community of Thoughtful Leaders!

Ben Brearley is a leader, manager, MBA, coach and consultant passionate about developing thoughtful and effective leaders, with a focus on improving time management, building leader self-confidence and understanding what motivates team members.